Image display device, image display method and image display system

ABSTRACT

An image display system is configured such that an image display device and an image processing device are connected to each other through a network. The image display device is provided with: an instruction information generation unit for generating instruction information pertaining to image-processing to be performed on an image input signal; an image signal transmission unit for transmitting the instruction information to the image processing device; a corrected signal reception unit for receiving a corrected image input signal obtained through image-processing performed by the image processing device on the basis of the instruction information; and a display signal output unit for outputting an image output signal based on the corrected image input signal, to an object where an image is to be displayed. The image processing device receives the image input signal connected through the network and performs image-processing on the image input signal according to the instruction information.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an image display device, an imagedisplay method, and an image display system that display an image on amonitor and, more particularly, relates to image correction of the imageto be displayed.

BACKGROUND ART

As an example of an image correction technique of a projector, PatentLiterature 1 discloses a configuration in which “A correction controlpart outputs a request for read of connection information and acorrection parameter to the side of a projector via an input/outputcontrol part, when detecting that the projector and a computer areconnected. On the side of the projector, a main control circuit properlyoperates an interface part at a proper timing to output connectioninformation, such as a display format and a correction parameter, suchas a shape correction data in a memory, to the side of the computer, inresponse to request. At an end of the computer, a correction controlunit provided therein reads both connection information and thecorrection parameter via an interface”. (citation from abstract).

Further, Patent Literature 2 discloses a configuration in which “Aprojector device detects a zoom position and an installation angle of aprojector to which projection is carried out and sends a result to animage output device. An outputting device corrects the distortion of theimage in accordance with the installation angle and corrects thetrapezoidal distortion or the like of a display image” (citation fromabstract).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

PATENT LITERATURE 1: JP 2005-156964 A

PATENT LITERATURE 2: JP 2005-110148 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In each of Patent Literatures 1 and 2, a projector and a computer areconnected and image processing compatible with the projector isperformed on image data stored in the computer. In a case that the imageprocessing is complicated and it requires a heavy load, an imageprocessing circuit that can execute the image processing function isneeded to be installed in the image display device and this may increasea manufacturing cost of the image display device. This remains a roomfor a further improvement.

The present invention is made in view of the above problem and has anobject to easily generate a high-quality image with a less expensiveimage display device.

Solution to Problem

To solve the above problem, in the present invention, an image displaydevice and an image processing device are connected via a network. Theimage display device includes an instruction information generation unitconfigured to generate instruction information related to imageprocessing to be processed on an image input signal, an image signaltransmission unit configured to transmit the instruction information tothe image processing device connected via the network, a correctedsignal reception unit configured to receive a corrected image inputsignal which is generated by the image processing device by performingimage processing on the image input signal based on the instructioninformation, and a display signal output unit configured to output, to atarget display, an image output signal based on the corrected imageinput signal. The image processing device includes an image processingunit configured to perform image processing on the image input signalbased on the instruction information.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, a high-quality image can be easilygenerated with a less expensive image display device. Objects,configurations, and effects in addition to what is described in theabove description will be made clear in the following description ofembodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an imagedisplay system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating hardware configurations of an imagedisplay device and an image processing device, (a) illustrates the imagedisplay device, and (b) illustrates the image processing device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of theimage display device 10 according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of theimage processing device.

FIG. 5 illustrates additional images indicating processing results inthe image processing device, (a) illustrates an image in a case thatauthentication is succeeded, (b) illustrates an image of anauthentication error, (c) illustrates an image of a security error, and(d) illustrates an image of a content error.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating setting screen examples of imageprocessing in the image processing device, (a) illustrates a settingscreen in an initial condition, (b) illustrates a setting screen after auser sets content of image processing, (c) illustrates a setting screenwhen image processing of a brightness condition adaptation is invalid,and (d) illustrates a setting screen of a brightness conditionadaptation.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of the imagedisplay system.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an imagedisplay device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a detailed configuration diagram of a decoding unit accordingto the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration ofanother example of the decoding unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration ofanother example of the decoding unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of aprojector 10 a according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an imagedisplay device according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an imagedisplay system according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an imagedisplay system according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an imagedisplay device according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an imagedisplay system according to a seventh embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the drawings; however, the present invention is not limitedto the embodiments. Here, in the drawings to describe the embodiments,same reference numerals are applied to same members and repetition ofexplanation thereof will be omitted.

First Embodiment

In the following, a first embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configurationdiagram illustrating an example of an image display system according tothe present embodiment.

The image display system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 has a configurationthat an image display device 10 located in a place where a user is, suchas an ordinary household 2, and an image processing device 20 in aservice provider 3 are connected via a public network (hereinafter,referred to as a network) 4 such as the Internet. The image displaydevice 10 is a device that displays an image for a user, such as aprojector, a television display device, a mobile phone, a tabletcomputer, a digital camera, a portable game machine, a vehicle-mountedmonitor device, and a recorder for example. Further, the imageprocessing device 20 is a device that performs image processing toimprove a quality of the image displayed by the image display device 10,such as an image processing server device, a cloud device, and acomputer, which are connected to the network 4.

The image display device 10 is connected to each of image signalproviding sources 11 such as a computer 11 a and a television 11 b(including a connection terminal for a television reception signal ofcable television and a satellite broadcasting) for example. Then, animage signal on which a later described correction process has performedis displayed on a target display 12. When the target display 12 is amonitor 12 a, the monitor 12 a is electrically connected to the imagedisplay device 10. The target display 12 may be a screen 12 b to which aprojection light generated based on an image output signal is projected.

Further, the image display device 10 includes an input/output device 13including an operation button (corresponding to an input operation unit)to input information, which is related to image processing to beperformed on an image input signal, or various setting information and adisplay panel used to confirm a condition of the image display device10, and a sensor device 14 that detects information needed to determinecontent of image processing on the image input signal. The sensor device14 is an inclination angle detection sensor that detects an installationcondition of the image display device 10 such as an inclination anglewith respect to a horizontal plane for example, or an illuminance sensorthat detects a surrounding environment such as a surrounding illuminanceof the image display device 10 or target display 12 a.

With reference to FIG. 2, hardware configurations of the image displaydevice 10 and image processing device 20 according to the presentembodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating hardwareconfigurations of the image display device and image processing device,(a) illustrates the image display device, and (b) illustrates the imageprocessing device.

As illustrated in (a) of FIG. 2, the image display device 10 includes acentral processing unit (CPU) 11, a random access memory (RAM) 12, aread only memory (ROM) 13, a hard disk drive (HDD) 14, an I/F 15, and abus 18. The CPU 11, RAM 12, ROM 13, HDD 14, and I/F 15 are connected toone another via the bus 18.

The image display device 10 is connected to the image signal providingsource 11, monitor 12 a, input/output device 13, sensor device 14 andthe network 4 respectively via the I/F 15.

As illustrated in (b) of FIG. 2, the image processing device 20 includesa CPU 21, a RAM 22, a ROM 23, an HDD 24, an I/F 25, and a bus 28. TheCPU 21, RAM 22, ROM 23, HDD 24, and I/F 25 are connected via the bus 28.

The image processing device 20 is connected to the network 4 via the I/F25.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an internal configuration of the imagedisplay device 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagramillustrating a functional configuration of the image display device 10according to the first embodiment.

The image display device 10 includes an image signal input unit 100, acompression unit 101, an image signal transmission unit 102, a correctedsignal receiving, i.e., reception unit 103, a decoding unit 104, adisplay image generation unit 105, a display signal output unit 106, aninstruction information generation unit 107, and a memory unit 108.

The image signal input unit 100 accepts an input of an uncompressedimage input signal (also referred to as an uncorrected image signal)from the image signal providing source 11. More specifically, the imagesignal input unit 100 is a block to accept an input of the image inputsignal input from the image signal providing source 11 and transfers thesignal to the compression unit 101. As an example of the image inputsignal, there are a compressed and encoded image signal (HEVC, H.264,MPEG 2, Motion JPEG or the like) and an uncompressed image signal (RGBformat, YUV format, or the like).

In a case that a compressed image signal is input, the compression unit101 may not be needed. Further, even when the compression unit 101 isincluded, the compressed image input signal may be directly transferredfrom the image signal input unit 100 to the image signal transmissionunit 102 (indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 3).

As an example of the interface to connect the image signal input unit100 and image signal providing source 11, there are an HDMI (registeredtrademark), a USB, IEEE 1394, DVI, Ethernet (registered trademark), orthe like.

The compression unit 101 is a module that accepts an input of the imageinput signal from the image signal input unit 100 and performscompression encoding on the image input signal in a data formatcompatible with the data transmission/reception via the network 4. Forexample, in a case that the image input signal is an uncompressed imagesignal, a process to convert the signal into a compressed and encodedimage signal is performed.

The image signal transmission unit 102 accepts inputs of an image inputsignal provided from the image signal input unit 100, instructioninformation provided from the instruction information generation unit107, and notification information provided from the corrected signalreception unit 103. Then, the image signal transmission unit 102determines whether or not an image input signal and instructioninformation can be output based on the notification information, andoutputs the image input signal and instruction information to thenetwork 4 when it is determined that the data can be output. As anexample of an interface that connects the image signal transmission unit102 and corrected signal reception unit 103 to the network 4respectively, there are an HDMI, a USB, a DVI, IEEE 1394, Ethernet, andthe like.

The corrected signal reception unit 103 receives a processed image inputsignal (hereinafter referred to as a corrected image signal), on whichimage processing is performed on an image generated by the imageprocessing device 20 by performing image processing on the image inputsignal based on an instruction signal, and notification information.

The notification information is information provided from the imageprocessing device 20 and information that includes at least one of errorinformation detected during the image processing and a result ofauthentication between the image display device 10 and image processingdevice 20.

The corrected signal reception unit 103 outputs the received correctedimage signal to the decoding unit 104 and outputs the receivednotification information to the display image generation unit 105 andimage signal transmission unit 102.

The decoding unit 104 is a block that generates a decoded image bydecoding the corrected image signal provided from the corrected signalreception unit 103 and outputs the decoded image.

The display image generation unit 105 is a block that accepts an outputof the notification information provided from the corrected signalreception unit 103 and the instruction information provided from theinstruction information generation unit 107 and generates an additionalimage based on at least one of the notification information andinstruction information.

The display signal output unit 106 accepts an input of the decoded imageand additional image and outputs an image output signal to a monitor 12a after performing a compressing process. Under the condition thatviewing has been prohibited, when an additional image is input, onlysuch additional image is output as the image output signal.

The instruction information generation unit 107 accepts an input ofsetting information provided from the input/output device 13 and sensorinformation provided from the sensor device 14 and generates and outputsinstruction information that defines the content of the image processingexecuted by the image processing device 20. The instruction informationmay include the setting information and sensor information. Theinstruction information generation unit 107 may output onlypredetermined information by extracting from the setting information andsensor information according to an output destination of the instructioninformation.

The setting information and the instruction information may include adisplay position, a display size, a transparent level, and the like ofthe additional image. When the instruction information input to thedisplay image generation unit 105 includes a display position, a displaysize, and a transparent level, the display image generation unit 105generates the additional image based on the instruction information.

The memory unit 108 stores various information. For example, the memoryunit 108 may temporarily store the setting information, sensorinformation, and instruction information, or the memory unit 108 maystore initial values of the setting information, sensor information, andinstruction information in advance. When the setting information andsensor information are not input, the instruction information generationunit 107 may generate the instruction information by using the settinginformation and sensor information stored in the memory unit 108 or mayread and output the instruction information stored in the memory unit108.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, an internal configuration of the imageprocessing device 20 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagramillustrating a functional configuration of the image processing device20.

The image processing device 20 includes an image signal reception unit201, a decoding unit 202, an image processing unit 203, a compressionunit 204, and a corrected signal transmission unit 205.

The image signal reception unit 201 receives a compressed image inputsignal and instruction information from the image display device 10 viathe network 4. The image signal reception unit 201 outputs thecompressed image input signal to the decoding unit 202 and outputs theinstruction information to the image processing unit 203.

As with the decoding unit 103 in the image display device 10, thedecoding unit 202 performs a decoding process on the compressed imageinput signal and outputs the image to the image processing unit 203.

The image processing unit 203 performs image processing, based on theinstruction information, on the decoded image input signal acquired fromthe decoding unit 203. This process content will be described later. Theimage processing unit 203 outputs the processed image signal(hereinafter, referred to as a corrected signal) to the compression unit204.

Further, the image processing unit 203 generates notificationinformation that indicates an error occurred or found during the imageprocessing and outputs the notification information to the correctedsignal transmission unit 205.

As with the compression unit 101 in the image display device 10, thecompression unit 204 performs a compressing process of the correctedsignal with a compression format compatible with the data transmissionvia the network 4 and outputs the compressed and corrected signal to thecorrected signal transmission unit 205.

The corrected signal transmission unit 205 transmits the compressed andcorrected signal and/or notification information to the image displaydevice 10 via the network 4.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, additional images displayed onthe image display device 10 will be described. FIG. 5 is additionalimages indicating processing results in the image processing device 20.(a) is an image of a case that authentication is succeeded, (b) is animage of an authentication error, (c) is an image of a security error,and (d) is an image of a content error.

An additional image 500 is an example of the additional image which isoutput when an authentication process between the image display device10 and image processing device 20 is completed and the connection isallowed (see (a) of FIG. 5).

An additional image 501 is an example of the additional image when theconnection is not allowed as a result of the authentication processbetween the image display device 10 and image processing device 20 (see(b) of FIG. 5). In this example, the additional image 501 is output whenthe image display device 10 is not registered in the image processingdevice 20.

The additional image 502 is an example of the additional image when theimage processing device 20 determines that the image input signalprovided from the image display device 10 cannot be displayed forsecurity purposes (see (c) of FIG. 5). As a method to determine not toallow displaying for security purposes, copyright protection informationor the like included in the image input signal may be used.

An additional image 503 is an example of the additional image when theimage processing device 20 determines that the image input signalprovided from the image display device 10 conflicts with an agerequirement (see (d) of FIG. 5). As a method to determine whether or notthe image conflicts with the age requirement, the age requirement levelwritten in the instruction information and age requirement informationincluded in the image input signal may be checked for example. Here, theage requirement information is information that indicates a range or alower limit of ages allowed for viewing.

The additional images 502 and 503 correspond to images to be displayedwhen viewing is not allowed.

The additional images may be temporarily stored in the memory unit 108or may be stored in the memory unit 108 as an initial value in advance.Further, via the network 4 and corrected signal reception unit 103, theadditional images may be downloaded from the image processing device 20and stored in the memory unit 108. Further, the additional images storedin the memory unit 108 may be read and output.

FIG. 6 illustrates examples of image processing content setting screensas other examples of the additional images. FIG. 6 is diagramsillustrating image processing setting screens of the image processingdevice 20. (a) is a setting image in an initial condition, (b) is asetting screen after a user sets the image processing content, (c) is asetting screen when image processing of a brightness conditionadaptation is invalid, and (d) is a setting screen of the brightnesscondition adaptation.

An additional image 600 is an example of the setting screen of the imageprocessing allowed in the image processing device 20 (see (a) of FIG.6).

An additional image 601 is an example of the additional image of a casethat the user enables image processing of the brightness conditionadaptation via the input/output device 13 on the setting screendisplayed on the additional image 601 (see (b) of FIG. 6).

An additional image 602 is an example of the additional image of a casethat the image processing of the brightness condition adaptation isinvalid in the image processing device 20 that is, for example, a casethat a contract related to this function, which is a contract of theperforming image processing for a brightness condition adaptationprocess between the user of the image display device 10 and the serviceprovider 3 of the image processing device 20 are not concluded (see (c)of FIG. 6).

An additional image 603 is an example of the additional imageillustrating a setting screen of a specific parameter in the imageprocessing including brightness condition adaptation (see (d) of FIG.6).

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 7, an operation of the image displaysystem according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is asequence diagram illustrating an image display system according to thefirst embodiment. At the timing that the following process starts, theimage processing device 20 has been turned on and is waiting for anaccess from the image display device 10.

Firstly, the image display device 10 is turned on (S701) and connectedto the image processing device 20 via the network 4 (S702).

Next, the image display device 10 transmits contract information to theimage processing device 20 via the network 4 (S703). The contractinformation indicates an agreement related to a type or content of imageprocessing made between the user of the image display device 10 and theservice provider 3 of the image processing device 20 (see FIG. 1) andincludes information used by the image processing device 20 to recognizethe image display device 10 individually. The transmission of thecontract information may be performed by the image signal transmissionunit 102 by reading the contract information stored in the memory unit108 (not illustrated).

The image processing device 20 receives the contract information (S704)and authenticates whether to allow connecting to the image displaydevice 10 based on the contract information (S705). The image processingdevice 20 transmits the authentication result, as the notificationinformation, to the image display device 10 via the network 4 (S706).The reception of the contract information may be performed by the imagesignal reception unit 201. Then, the image processing device 20 mayinclude an authentication processing unit (not illustrated) and outputthe authentication result to the corrected signal transmission unit 205.

When notification information indicating a connection permission isreceived from the image processing device 20 (S707), the display imagegeneration unit 105 in the image display device 10 shows a display of anauthentication completion on the monitor 12 a (S708). As examples of thedisplay on the monitor 12 a, there are the additional images 500 (see(a) of FIGS. 5) and 501 (see (a) of FIG. 5).

The image processing device 20 may output information including a listof contracted image processing as the notification information. Theimage display device 10 may display the list of image processingavailable in the image processing device 20 on the monitor 12 a as thesetting screen based on the notification information. As an example ofthe setting screen, there is the additional image 600 (see (a) of FIG.6). The list of the contracted image processing may be stored in thememory unit 108 and the setting screen may be generated.

With the above described procedure, the connection between the imagedisplay device 10 and the image processing device 20 can be completed.

Next, the image signal transmission unit 102 in the image display device10 transmits instruction information that defines the content of theimage processing (including a type of the image correction and a targetvalue of the correction) to the image processing device 20 via thenetwork 4 (S709) and the image signal reception unit 201 in the imageprocessing device 20 receives the instruction information (S710).

The instruction information is generated by the instruction informationgeneration unit 107 based on at least one of the setting informationprovided form the input/output device 13 and the sensor informationprovided from the sensor device 14. Further, the instruction informationgeneration unit 107 may generate the instruction information by usingmemory information previously stored in the memory unit 108. As examplesof the memory information, there are the setting information andinstruction information which are set in a previous process and thesetting information, instruction information, and sensor informationwhich are previously set when being initialized.

Further, as examples of the setting information, there are a correctedimage signal format, a type or a mode of the image processing,correction level information or a detailed correction parameter in thepredetermined image processing, an age requirement level, and the like.

As examples of the corrected image signal format, there are aresolution, a frame rate, and a compression encoding format. As examplesof the image processing mode, there are a brightness conditionadjustment mode to perform image processing such as a contrastcorrection according to the brightness around the monitor 12 a or imagedisplay device 10, a cinema mode, a sport mode, a still image mode, anda text display mode. As examples of the image processing type, there area contrast correction, sharpness, an edge enhancement, a noise removal,a gamma correction, a color temperature correction, a gradationenlargement correction, a distortion correction, a resolutionconversion, a frame rate conversion, and a zooming process. As anexample of the correction level information or detailed correctionparameter in the predetermined image processing, there is correctionlevel setting of a dark part and a bright part in the brightnesscondition adaptation mode (see (d) of FIG. 6). The image signal format,image processing mode, and image processing type can be set by the userby operating the input/output device 13 on the setting screens (see (a),6(b), and 6(c) of FIG. 6) displayed on the monitor 12 a of the imagedisplay device 10.

As an example of the age requirement level, there is information of anage range to allow displaying the image on the image display device 10.The image processing device 20 compares age requirement information ofthe image input signal, on which the image processing is performed, andthe age requirement level provided from the image display device 10 andtransmits information whether or not the age requirement information iswithin the age requirement range, as the notification information, tothe image display device 10. The image display device 10 displays theimage on the monitor 12 a based on the notification information onlywhen the age requirement information is within the age requirement rangeindicated by the age requirement level, display corresponding to the agerequirement level can be performed without determining whether or notthe age requirement information is within the age requirement range inthe image display device 10. When the image signal is out of the agerequirement range, notification information indicating thereof istransmitted from the image processing device 20 to the image displaydevice 10, and an additional image indicating thereof (see (d) of FIG.5) is displayed on the monitor 12 a.

As an example of a method to acquire age requirement information, thereis a method to extract age requirement information stored in a user dataarea of the image input signal on which the image processing isperformed. As another example, there may be a method that the imageprocessing device 20 has library information including age requirementrange information of various image input signals, and the image inputsignal provided from the image display device 10 is checked with thelibrary information.

As an example of the sensor information, there is an illuminance levelaround the monitor 12 a and image display device 10.

An image input signal is input to the image signal input unit 100 of theimage display device 10 from the image signal providing source 11(S711). If needed, the compression unit 101 compress the image inputsignal input from the image signal input unit according to apredetermined encoding method A (S711). Then, the image signaltransmission unit 102 transmits the compressed image input signal to theimage processing device 20 (S712).

The image signal reception unit 201 of the image processing device 20receives the image input signal provided from the image display device10 via the network 4 (S713).

In the following, a case that the image input signal provided from theimage display device 10 is an image stream (referred to as a first imagestream) on which compression encoding is performed according to apredetermined encoding method (referred to as a first encoding method)will be described as an example. The decoding unit 202 performs adecoding process corresponding to the encoding method A and generates afirst decoded image (S714).

Next, the image processing unit 203 performs image processing such as abrightness condition adaptation process or a format conversion on thefirst decoded image according to the instruction information andgenerates a corrected second decoded image (S715). As examples of theformat conversion, there are a compression encoding process with aformat same as that of the image input signal provided from the imagedisplay device 10, a compression encoding format written in theinstruction information, or a bit rate. Further, before the compressionencoding process, a process such as a resolution conversion and a framerate conversion may be performed.

Next, the compression unit 204 performs a compression encoding processon the second decoded image which is corrected with a format same asthat of the first image stream, generates a second image stream, andoutputs the second image stream as a corrected image signal (S716).

The compression unit 204 may further output notification information. Asan example of the notification information, there is error informationof the image input signal detected in the image processing device 20. Asexamples of the error information, there are information of a failuresuch as a syntax error and a data corruption detected by the imageprocessing device 20 during the decoding process when the image inputsignal is an image stream compressed with a predetermined encodingmethod, and information indicating that the image stream encoding methodis not compatible with the image processing device 20.

The corrected signal transmission unit 205 in the image processingdevice 20 transmits the second image stream and/or notificationinformation to the image display device 10 (S717) and the correctedsignal reception unit 103 in the image display device 10 receives thedata (S718).

The decoding unit 104 generates a second decoded image by performing asecond decoding process on the corrected image signal provided from theimage processing device 20 (S719) and the display signal output unit 106outputs the second decoded image to the monitor 12 a (or the targetdisplay 12) as an image output signal (S720).

The image display device 10 may output a display related to an occurrederror to the monitor 12 a, based on the error information.

According to the present embodiment, the image processing device 20,which is connected via the network, performs image processing to improvethe image quality of the image to be displayed on the image displaydevice 10. With this configuration, it is not needed to provide acomplicated image processing circuit to the image display device 10 andthis reduces the manufacturing cost of the image display device 10.

Further, there may be a concern that the consumed power increases toperform advanced image processing; however, according to the presentembodiment, since the image processing device 20 performs the imageprocessing, the increase of the consumed power in the place where theimage display device 10 is located can be suppressed.

Further, the image processing device 20 connects a plurality of imagedisplay devices 10 via a network and can perform image processing inresponse to a request from each of the image display device 10.Accordingly, when an image processing function is to be updated, sincethe function only in the image processing device 20 needs to be updated,a problem such that each image display device 10 has a differentfunction update condition may not occur.

Further, the image processing device 20 is configured with a devicedifferent from the image signal providing source 11 so that the imageinput signal can be corrected regardless of the type of the image signalproviding source. In addition, regarding the different device conditionsof the image display devices 10 or the different display environmentsincluding surrounding brightness of a single image display device 10,image correction can be performing according to the display environmentof respective timings.

Second Embodiment

The image display device 10 according to a second embodiment has aconfiguration that the decoding unit of the image display device 10 ismodified, regarding the image display device 10 and image display system1 according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, same referencenumerals are applied to the same members and repetition of theexplanation thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of the imagedisplay device 10 according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, aconfiguration of the image display device 10 will be described.

A decoding unit 104 a is a block that accepts inputs of a correctedimage input signal provided from the corrected signal reception unit 103and an image input signal provided from the image signal input unit 100and outputs a decoded image. In the following explanation, three mannersof the decoding unit 104 a including decoding units 104 a, 104 b, and104 c will be described as examples.

Here, the corrected image input signal is a differential image signalincluding differential image information between a first decoded image,which is generated in the image processing device 20 and has not beencorrected, and a corrected second decoded image. The image input signalprovided from the image signal input unit 100 is the same as the imageinput signal provided to the image signal transmission unit 102.Further, the image input signal provided from the compression unit 101is the same as the image input signal provided to the image signaltransmission unit 102.

FIG. 9 is an example of a detailed configuration diagram of the decodingunit 104 aaccording to the present embodiment. The decoding unit 104 aincludes a first decoding unit 104 a 1, a second decoding unit 104 a 2,and a decoded image generation unit 104 a 3.

The first decoding unit 104 a 1 is a block to input a differential imagesignal provided from the corrected signal reception unit 103 andgenerate and output a differential decoded image by performing adecoding process on the differential image signal. As an example of thedifferential image signal, there is a differential decoded image, whichis obtained by taking a difference between the pixel values of the firstdecoded image and second decoded image generated by the image processingdevice 20 (differential decoded image=second decoded image−first decodedimage).

The second decoding unit 104 a 2 is a block to input an image inputsignal provided from the image signal input unit 100 or compression unit101 and generate and output a first decoded image by performing adecoding process on the image input signal.

The decoded image generation unit 104 a 3 is a block to receive an inputof the first decoded image and differential decoded image, generate afinal decoded image by adding the differential decoded image to thefirst decoded image (final decoded image=first decodedimage+differential decoded image), and output the final decoded image asa decoded image.

According to the above configuration, a data amount of the correctedimage input signal input from the image display device 10 is reduced andthe system can be used even when a transmission band of the network 4 islow. This enables to connect more image display devices 10 to thenetwork 4.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of another example ofthe decoding unit according to the present embodiment.

The image processing device 20 performs a compression encoding processon the second decoded image by using motion vector information obtainedin the decoding process performed on the image input signal to be input,and outputs a signal, which is obtained by removing the motion vectorinformation from the obtained compression encoded image signal, as adifferential image signal. That is, the differential image signal is asignal in which the motion vector information is removed from thecorrected image input signal generated in a compression encoding processon the second decoded image generated by the image processing device 20.

The decoding unit 104 b illustrated in FIG. 10 includes a first decodingunit 104 b 1 and a second decoding unit 104 b 2.

The second decoding unit 104 b 2 is a block to input an image inputsignal provided from the image signal input unit 100 and output motionvector information by extracting the motion vector information in thedecoding process performed on the image input signal.

The first decoding unit 104 b 1 is a block to input the differentialimage signal provided from the corrected signal reception unit 103,performs a decoding process on the differential image signal by usingthe motion vector information provided from the second decoding unit 104b 2, and generate and output a final decoded image.

With the above configuration, the data amount of the corrected imageinput signal input by the image display device 10 can be reduced and thesystem can be used even when the transmission band of the network 4 islow. Further, this enables to connect more image display devices 10 tothe network 4.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of another example ofthe decoding unit according to the present embodiment.

The decoding unit 104 c of FIG. 11 is compatible with a plurality ofdifferential image signals. In the following, a configuration thatenables to switch a process to generate a decoded image of thedifferential image signal explained in FIGS. 9 and 10 will be describedas an example. The decoding unit 104 c includes a first decoding unit104 c 1, a second decoding unit 104 c 2, and a decoded image generationunit 104 c 3.

Although it is not illustrated in FIG. 8, the instruction informationgeneration unit 107 further supplies instruction information to thedecoding unit 104, and the decoding unit 104 obtains the instructioninformation. The instruction information includes differential imagesignal format information that indicates a type of the differentialimage signal. Further, to the first decoding unit 104 c 1, seconddecoding unit 104 c 2, and decoded image generation unit 104 c 3, theinstruction information is input respectively.

When the differential image signal format information indicates theformat of differential image information illustrated in FIG. 9, thefirst decoding unit 104 c 1, second decoding unit 104 c 2, and decodedimage generation unit 104 c 3 generate decoded images by using theprocessing method described in FIG. 9.

Further, when the differential image signal format information indicatesthe format of the differential image information illustrated in FIG. 10,the first decoding unit 104 c 1 and second decoding unit 104 c 2generate a final decoded image by using the processing method describedin FIG. 10 and output the final decoded image to the decoded imagegeneration unit 102 c 3. The decoded image generation unit 102 c 3outputs the final decoded image as it is to the display signal outputunit 106.

According to the above described configuration, format information of aplurality of types of differential image signals can be processed in onedecoding unit.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment has a configuration that the image display device 10is a projector. The third embodiment is made to apply the display signaloutput unit 106 in the image display device 10 to a projector, regardingthe image display device 10 and image display system 1 according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of aprojector 10 a according to the third embodiment. In the following, aconfiguration of the projector 10 a will be described.

The display signal output unit 106 includes an image generation unit900, a timing control unit 901, a light source 902, a panel 903, and alens 904.

The image generation unit 900 is a block to input a decoded imageprovided from the decoding unit 104 and an additional image providedfrom the display image generation unit 105 and generate and output adisplay image by compositing the decoded image and additional image.

As an example of the composite process, there is a process to overlap anadditional image to the decoded image. When the overlap process isperformed, a penetration process such as an alpha blending process maybe added. Further, only the decoded image or only the additional imagemay be output as a display image.

The timing control unit 901 is a block to accept an input of the displayimage and generate a display control signal based on ahorizontal/vertical synchronization signal of a display screen on whichthe display image is displayed.

The panel 903 is a block to accept an input of a light beam output fromthe light source 902 and a display control signal output from the timingcontrol unit 901 and generate a projection image by adjusting a tone ofthe light beam of every pixel.

The lens 904 is a block to project an image on the screen 12 b asadjusting a focal point of the light beam which passes through the panel903.

The image projected on the screen 12 b is a high-quality image to whichimage processing is performed in the image processing device 20.

In a case that the projector 10 a is used as an image display device, asan example of the setting information and sensor information, there isan installation condition of the projector 10 a with respect to a screeninstallation face. As an example of the image processing, there are atrapezoidal (keystone) correction, a blur reduction, and a contrastimprovement.

In general, a projector projects an image to a screen attachedvertically to an installation face such as a table, a wall, or a ceilingfor example. In this case, a clear image can be projected on the screen.However, an installing surface of the screen and the installation faceof the projector may not be vertical in some cases. For example,although a portable projector can be installed anywhere, the image maybe distorted and may not be projected in a rectangular area. The methodto adjust the distortion to a rectangular shape is the trapezoidal(keystone) correction. With this correction, the shape is converted tobe rectangular by performing a geometric transform operation such as areduction and an enlargement on the image input signal according to theinstallation condition of the projector.

According to the present embodiment, regarding the above keystonecorrection, a keystone correction process can be executed in the imageprocessing device 20 outside the projector 10 a so that the cost of theprojector can be reduced and the function of the projector can easily beimproved.

Fourth Embodiment

The image display device 10 illustrated in a fourth embodiment is anembodiment that includes a computer 11 a used as the image signalproviding source 11 and an image signal input unit 100 a in the imagedisplay device 10 receives an image signal and a setting signal from thecomputer 11 a, regarding the image display device 10 and image displaysystem 1 described in the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a configurationdiagram illustrating the image display device 10 according to the fourthembodiment. Here, in the FIG. 13, the compression unit 101 is notillustrated.

The computer 11 a is connected to the image display device 10 (seeFIG. 1) and outputs an image input signal and a control signal on whichthe image processing is processed. The image signal input unit 100 aaccepts an input of the image input signal control signal. Here, sincesetting information is input via the computer 11 a, the input/outputdevice 13 that inputs the setting information in FIG. 1 is not needed inthe present embodiment.

With the above describe configuration, the computer 11 a that suppliesthe image input signal can supply and control the setting information tothe image display device 10 and image processing device 20.

Fifth Embodiment

The image display system described in a fifth embodiment has aconfiguration that the transmission method between the image displaydevice 10 and image processing device 20 is changed and a mobileterminal 30 is made enable to supply and control the setting informationto the image display device 10 and image processing device 20, regardingthe image display system described in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram illustrating an image display systemla according to the fifth embodiment. The mobile terminal 30 is a blockthat transmits and receives various information to and from the imageprocessing device 20 and image display device 10 via the network 4.Further, the mobile terminal 30 is a block to supply setting informationto the image display device 10. As an example of the mobile terminal,there are a mobile phone, a tablet computer terminal, and a smartphone.

With the above configuration, even with a data transmission format ofthe network 4, which is not compatible with the image display device 10,the mobile terminal 30 can convert the data to be compatible with theformant. Particularly, the image display device 10 used in a householdoften has a long replacement cycle and uses an order version of a latestdata communication format or a setting signal; however, the old imagedisplay device 10 can be connected and communicate with the imageprocessing device 20 via application software of a mobile terminaldevice such as a tablet computer and a smartphone. Further, since thesetting information can be input to the mobile terminal 30, even when aproviding source that cannot be input or output the setting informationsuch as a television and a television signal reception terminal is usedas the image signal providing source 11, as with the fourth embodiment,the setting information can be input via a mobile terminal which is adevice different from the image display device 10.

Sixth Embodiment

An image display system according to a sixth embodiment has aconfiguration that an image input signal is transmitted to the imageprocessing device 20 from an external device (the computer 5 in FIG. 15)connected to the network 4, regarding the image display system 1 andimage display device 10 described in the first embodiment. In thefollowing, an embodiment of the image display system according to thepresent embodiment will be described. FIG. 15 is a configuration diagramillustrating an example of an image display system according to thesixth embodiment. FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram illustrating anexample of the image display device 10 b according to the sixthembodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 15, the image display system 1 b described in thepresent embodiment has a configuration that the image display device 10b, image processing device 20, and computer 5 are connected to thenetwork 4 respectively.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 16, the image display device 10 b has aconfiguration, in which the image signal input unit 100 and compressionunit 101 are not included, different from that of the image displaydevice 10 according to the first embodiment.

In the following, an operation flow of the image display systemaccording to the present embodiment will be described.

The power of the image display device 10 b is turned on and connected tothe image processing device 20 via the network 4. Here, the processes toconnect the image display device 10 b and the image processing device 20is same as the processes in steps S701 to S708 described in the firstembodiment and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

Next, the power of the computer 5 is turned on and connected to theimage processing device 20 via the network 4. The computer 5 may be animage input signal storage device which is not under the control of theuser and, in this case, the computer 5 needs to be tuned on at thetiming when the operation according to the present embodiment isstarted. As an example of a connection process between the computer 5and image processing device 20, there is a method same as the connectionprocess between the image display device 10 and image processing device20 described in the first embodiment, which is the processes in stepsS701 to S708 for example. That is, it is a method to provide contractinformation that allows identifying individual computer 5 to the imageprocessing device 20 and the recognition determination is performed inthe image processing device 20.

Next, the image display device 10 b transmits instruction information ofimage processing to the image processing device 20 (corresponding tostep S709). The instruction information is generated by the imagedisplay device 10 b based on the setting information provided from theinput/output device 13 and sensor information provided from the sensordevice 14 and is output.

Next, the image processing device 20 receives the instructioninformation (corresponding to step S710).

The image display device 10 b transmits, to the image processing device20, image signal acquisition instruction information that instructs sothat the image input signal is transmitted from the computer 5 to theimage processing device 20. In response to the instruction, the imageprocessing device 20 performs an image input signal transmission requestto the computer 5 and the computer 5 transmits the image input signal tothe image processing device 20 in response to the request.

Alternatively, the image display device 10 b may transmit the imagesignal acquisition instruction information to the computer 5 and thecomputer 5 may transmit an image input signal to the image processingdevice 20 in response to the information.

After receiving an image input signal output permission signal, thecomputer 5 compresses the image input signal according to need(corresponding to S711) and transmits the image input signal to theimage processing device 20 via the network 4 (corresponding to S712). Ina case that the image input signal is a compression encoded signal, thecompression process may be skipped.

Next, the image processing device 20 receives the image input signalprovided from the computer 5, performs a decoding process (correspondingto step S714) and image processing or format converting according to theinstruction information (corresponding to step S715), and, afterperforming a compression process (corresponding to step S716), outputsthe image input signal to the image display device 10 as a correctedimage input signal (corresponding to step S717).

Next, the image display device 10 b receives the corrected image signalprovided from the image processing device 20 (corresponding to stepS718), performs a decoding process (corresponding to step S719), andoutputs the image signal to the target display 12 as an image outputsignal (corresponding to step S720).

With the above configuration, the configuration of the image displaydevice can be simplified.

As examples of the image display device according to the presentembodiment, there are a projector, a television, a recorder, and aset-top box. As examples of the image processing device according to thepresent embodiment, there are a server device, a cloud device, acomputer and the like, which are connected to the network.

Seventh Embodiment

An image display system described in a seventh embodiment has aconfiguration that the image processing device 20 and a plurality ofimage display devices 10 a, 10 b, and 10 c are connected respectivelyvia the network 4 as illustrated in FIG. 17, regarding the image displaysystem described in the first embodiment. Here, FIG. 17 is aconfiguration diagram illustrating an image display system according tothe seventh embodiment.

With the above configuration, by updating the image processing in theimage processing device 20, the update can be reflected to displayimages output from the plurality of image display devices 10 a, 10 b,and 10 c at the same time.

In the above, examples of embodiments of the present invention have beenexplained with the first to seventh embodiments; however, theconfiguration that realizes the technology of the present invention isnot limited to the embodiments and various modifications may be applied.For example, a part of the configuration of one embodiment may bereplaced with a part of another embodiment, and a configuration of oneembodiment may also be added to a configuration of another embodiment.These additions and modifications are all included in the scope of thepresent invention. Further, the numerical values, messages, and the likedescribed in the specification and drawings are simply examples and theeffect of the present invention is not deteriorated even when differentnumerical values, messages, and the like are used.

A part or all of the above described functions and the like of thepresent invention may be realized with hardware by designing anintegrated circuit for example. Further, the functions and the like maybe realized by software that interprets an operation program that causesa micro processing unit or the like to realize the respective functionsand the like. The hardware and software may be used in combination.

Further, the control lines and information lines illustrated in thedrawings indicate what are needed for the explanation and all controllines and information lines of the product may not be illustrated. Inactual, almost all components may be connected to one another.

For example, the image display device illustrated in the aboverespective embodiments may have a configuration with the projectordescribed in the third embodiment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 image display system-   4 network-   10 image display device-   11 image signal providing source-   12 target display-   20 image processing device

1. An image display device connected to a network, the image displaydevice comprising: an instruction information generation unit configuredto generate instruction information related to image processing to beperformed on an image input signal; an image signal transmission unitconfigured to transmit the instruction information to an imageprocessing device via the network; a corrected signal reception unitconfigured to receive a corrected image input signal generated by theimage processing device by performing image processing, on the imageinput signal, based on the instruction information; and a display signaloutput unit configured to output, to a target display, an image outputsignal based on the corrected image input signal.
 2. The image displaydevice according to claim 1, further comprising an image signal inputunit configured to accept an input of the image input signal from animage signal providing source, which is communicatably connected to theimage display device, wherein the image signal transmission unit furtheroutputs the image input signal to the image processing device.
 3. Theimage display device according to claim 1, further comprising an inputoperation unit configured to accept, from a user, an input of settinginformation related to the image processing, wherein the instructioninformation generation unit generates the instruction information basedon the setting information.
 4. The image display device according toclaim 1, further comprising at least one of a condition sensorconfigured to detect an installation condition of the image displaydevice and an illuminance sensor configured to detect illuminance aroundthe image display device or the target display, wherein the instructioninformation generation unit generates the instruction information basedon at least one of sensor information obtained from the condition sensorand sensor information obtained from the illuminance sensor.
 5. Theimage display device according to claim 1, further comprising a displayimage generation unit configured to output an additional image to thedisplay signal output unit, wherein the corrected signal reception unitreceives notification information that indicates an error occurredduring the image processing performed by the image processing device,the display image generation unit outputs the additional image thatindicates a content of the notification information, and the displaysignal output unit outputs the additional image to the target display.6. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the imagesignal transmission unit transmits contract information, in which a typeof the image processing to be requested to the image processing deviceis defined in advance, to the image processing device and transmits theinstruction information when permission is given from the imageprocessing device.
 7. The image display device according to claim 1,further comprising a decoding unit configured to decode the correctedimage input signal that is composed of a compressed and encoded imagestream.
 8. The image display device according to claim 7, wherein thecorrected signal reception unit receives differential image inputinformation that is composed of a difference between the corrected imageinput signal and the original image input signal, and the decoding unitgenerates a first decoded image by decoding the original image inputsignal, generates a differential decoded image by decoding thedifferential image input signal, and generates and outputs a finaldecoded image based on the first decoded image and the differentialdecoded image.
 9. The image display device according to claim 1, whereinthe display signal output unit comprises a timing control unit, a lightsource, a panel, and a lens, the timing control unit generates a displaycontrol signal based on the corrected image input signal, the panelaccepts a light beam output from the light source and an input of thedisplay control signal and generates a projection image as adjusting atone of the light beam, and the lens projects the projection image onthe target display as adjusting a focal point of the light beam thatpasses through the panel.
 10. The image display device according toclaim 1, wherein to the network, an external device serving as an imageinput signal providing source is connected, the image signaltransmission unit transmits, to the image processing device, imagesignal acquisition instruction information which causes the image inputsignal to be transmitted from the external device to the imageprocessing device, and the corrected signal reception unit receives acorrected image input signal to which the image processing device hasperformed the image processing on the image input signal acquired fromthe external device, in response to the image signal acquisitioninstruction information.
 11. The image display device according to claim1, wherein the image display device is connected to the network via amobile terminal device, the mobile terminal device outputs the settinginformation to the image display device, and the image display devicetransmits the image input signal and receives the corrected image inputsignal via the mobile terminal device.
 12. An image display method of animage display device that is connected to a network, the image displaymethod comprising the steps of: authenticating between an imageprocessing device and the image display device which are connected viathe network; transmitting, from the image display device to the imageprocessing device, instruction information related to image processingto be performed on an image input signal; receiving, by the imageprocessing device, the image input signal; generating, by the imageprocessing device, a corrected image input signal by performing theimage processing on the image input signal; transmitting the correctedimage input signal from the image processing device to the image displaydevice; and outputting, by the image display device, the corrected imageinput signal to the target display.
 13. An image display system thatincludes an image display device connected to a network, wherein theimage display device is connected to an image processing device via thenetwork, the image display device comprising: an instruction informationgeneration unit configured to generate instruction information relatedto image processing to be performed on an image input signal; an imagesignal transmission unit configured to transmit the instructioninformation to the image processing device connected via the network; acorrected signal reception unit configured to receive a corrected imageinput signal to which the image processing device has performed imageprocessing based on the instruction information; and a display signaloutput unit configured to output an image output signal based on thecorrected image input signal to a target display, and the imageprocessing device comprising: an image input signal reception unitconfigured to receive the image input signal and the instructioninformation; an image processing unit configured to generate thecorrected image input signal by performing image processing on the imageinput signal based on the instruction information; and a correctedsignal transmission unit configured to transmit the corrected imageinput signal to the image display device.
 14. The image display systemaccording to claim 13, wherein to the image processing device, aplurality of image display devices are respectively connected via thenetwork.
 15. The image display system according to claim 13, wherein tothe image processing device, an external device that is a devicedifferent from the image display device and transmits the image inputsignal to the image processing device is connected via the network, andthe image processing device receives the image input signal from theexternal device.